Great Tips for Bad Timing in Ballroom Dancing

Too often, people have been giving out the advice of "just feel the music" or "just watch me" to those that struggle with timing, but a solution should be something more than that.  

Tips should be actionable, specific and have a little more depth than the mystical realm of feeling something that you hear.  

Let’s start with some popular dances that will help you understand Timing, Tempo, and Rhythm. 

1. Bachata and Merengue 

These dances (which really are a lot of fun) are great for your timing. 

How it works: 

Fundamentally, Bachata and Merengue are dances where you march or step to every beat of the music.  

This mean that you don't have to do anything fancy from a timing standpoint, you just march.  

Miss the first beat?  No problem, start marching anytime you want.  

What they add:

They help you establish your recognition of Tempo, establishes Timing, and creates the baseline for Rhythm. 

2. Waltz 

Waltz is the Merengue or Bachata of ballroom dancing!

How it Works:

Remember the advantage of Bachata and Merengue? (Hint: You have a step on every beat of the music)  

Well, the same thing applies to the Waltz.  

What the Waltz adds:

In addition to the constant and steady tempo of "1-2-3, 4-5-6" in the Waltz, this dance also allows you to practice different rhythms to develop recognition from an auditory standpoint, and control from a physical standpoint.  

You can do this using Hesitation movements (1 Step for 3 Counts).

Combining this pattern with the consistent foot placement of a box step will help both your ear for the music and your control of your movement.   

3. Tango

The Tango is a dramatic dance that tells a story so it's only natural for the basic step to have great grammar.  

How it Works:

It's easy to get lost trying to find one certain, specific beat of the music to start on but the Tango is a different story. 

The music is laid out like a sentence; There's a capital letter, or strong emphasis at the beginning of the "sentence", and things, seemingly, come to a halt at the end of the eighth count - like a period.  

The result is a predictable, and therefore, repeatable timing with the 8 counts of the Tango Basic fitting perfectly with the sentence-like music.  

What the Tango adds:

Tango is one of the best dances to not only acquire the skill for knowing when to start, but it also creates a template to follow when the music, and sentence, becomes more subtle. 

The end result is a more confident dancer overall. 

Timing isn't something one can master by only reading about it, but reading about it is much better than assuming it is something you're incapable of having.  

Timing, rhythm, and tempo are all skills that can be taught, learned and will develop and, while we can't pack every timing lesson into one article, or replace the supervised application of the information, just consider this as the first step against bad timing, the perception of bad timing...and any "just feel the music" advice about timing.